“It Just Works”. Mmm. Ok. “It Just Works, most of the time, for most people”. 

The Verge comments on iCloud performance are harsh. They fail to make a big difference in what developers are using to interact with iCloud (APIs) and what the users are seeing and experiencing with iCloud. Big difference.

APIs must be working for some because Apple is able to create apps that take advantage of them like the just released Podcasts apps which will sync settings from one device to another via iCloud.

Nonetheless, Apple’s track record with online services are less than stellar I must admit. iTools? Slow. .Mac? Slow and limited features. MobileMe? Sync problems and stability issues. iCloud? Lack of features people take for granted like a visible file system. But wait, what about the App Store, the iTunes Store? These are online stores that are used by millions of people and are doing fine.

So what is the problem? Apple cannot do everything well and this is why I still wonder why they just don’t buy Dropbox. They would get instant access to man power for fast et stable online services and multiplatform document-based syncing.

Interesting comments by John Gruber. The next area where Apple must invest for iCloud is on the backend side with great APIs where developers will find a clean and easy way to hook up theirs apps and services. 

Update: Yep, many developers seems to confirm this point of view.

patrickbgibson:

My friend and co-worker Tom has a thesis about Apple’s biggest problem: Google is getting better at design faster than Apple is getting better at web services.

I’m a long-time Mac user and a diehard Apple fan, and even I will admit that Apple’s approach to the web has been a clusterfuck….

Apple is a device company. Maybe Tim Cook and co will morph it into something more services friendly.

(via thirdmilleniumhip-deactivated20)